G-men had better players by far. Scheme doesn’t matter.
Graham vs Strasburg
- Thread starter lovethisgame78
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Hokiepokie, you'll have to keep us updated as to if Toni gives you a ring for your fan support. If not, we might just have to make a petition for you to get one.
Graham takes home state title No. 6 in dominant fashion over Strasburg
The G-men win state title No. 6 in dominant fashion over the the Rams 31-8
I doubt that. Strasburg just didn't matchup well with Graham. Not many teams do; from any region. That’s not to say that other teams in Region A or B may have matched up a little better and lead to a better showing. Heck, Strasburg didn’t even win their district. That’s not a knock on them, just saying the Region was pretty tough.
Since they went to a 6 class system in 2013 the western half of the state has won 11 of 12 titles. The exception was 2021 King William which was one of the most talented teams to come from the eastern half of the state in years. So it's not a stretch at all to think some of the other teams in C or D would've beaten Strasburg. It's a different level of ball with the physicality. Sorry but it's the truth.
I feel like Glenvar’s passing game would have been a nightmare for Strasburg. I’m not sure if Glenvar’s defense could have held up to Strasburg’s unconventional offense but I can say with certainty , Glenvar game was a much harder fought battle for GMen. Sometimes it simply comes down to matchups and/or mistakes. Other teams out of A/B might have been worse match ups for Graham.
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Gage Palmer improved tremendously as the season progressed. Gives new meaning to letting your pads do the talking. Graham’s defensive coaches game planned to take away Strasburg’s bread & butter on offense and the players executed that plan pretty well.Graham takes home state title No. 6 in dominant fashion over Strasburg
The G-men win state title No. 6 in dominant fashion over the the Rams 31-8www.wvva.com
Nice write up with thoughts from some of the defensive players & Graham’s DC.
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Defensive gauge was on full again for Graham as Gage Palmer hit fueled another dominant effort in state finals
HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL: Defensive gauge was on full again for Graham as Gage Palmer hit fueled another dominant defensive effort
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My point was that there were several strong teams in the Region. Strasburg won the Region, yes, but they did not win their district. Clarke County won the district by defeating Strasburg in the regular season. But Clarke was upset by the #8 seed in the playoffs. Maybe it’s just a weak point I am trying to make…but there may have been another team who would have matched up with Graham a little better. Maybe not. Just ruminating on a rainy Sunday.
Gotta admit that winning 11 of 12 since 2013 is pretty strong proof of dominance overall though.
Had nothing to do with physicality regarding Appos titles or Glenvars a while back or Grahams titles or Radfords because the teams that lost to all of the above teams in the title game lost because of lack of being able to cover a pass or spread offense. It doesn't take a blind man to see this. The teams in the Valley run, run some more, then run again, and most of that running is Inside the tackles. How do you prepare in practice with your second stringers and JV to replicate an offense with 4 wide or even 5 wide? For the most part, you don't do it because you rarely see it through the year so you don't have to do it. Come game 15, the East has a problem.
Strasburg was plenty physical. Had over 200 yds on the ground in 2nd half and outscored Graham 8 to 7 in the 2nd half. Just like Central Woodstock vs Graham or Goochland or Draft and Lee Staunton against Appomattox, they all get shell shocked in the first and 2nd qtrs because the team from the west running 4 wideout just overwhelms them. Appo didn't throw it too much and liked to run it, but when their great teams started to have a close game or issues, they very quickly spread the field and forced the Eastern team to cover in space.
Graham's beat matchup was the team they barely beat in game 14 with Glenvar. Also, Poquoson would have been the best matchup for Graham in the East because they see spread more than most and have prepared for it week in and week out for years because some of the teams down on the Coast go 3 and 4 wide and far more than in the Valley, so Poquoson is used to covering the field in open space more than a team like Strasburg. Graham would have still won, but Poquoson would have been a better matchup.
I've said this for years. Riverheads was only a 2 year sample, but their titles in Class 2 would have been few and far between in Class 2 because they are not use to being spread out and we exposed them at Radford some last year. They were more than physical enough to beat us last year. But what I've said was, state titles for teams in the Valley are going to be tough to come by in the future because the outdated offenses up there do more harm to them Defensively when they get in the state title game as they go against a spread offense that is almost foreign to them. When the overwhelming majority of those teams are running power or wing t or some variation of it where basically 80 percent of the plays are inside the tackle box, your defenses each week are put at a disservice for game 15 which will look entirely different.
Style, matchups, and scheme absolutely DOES matter and having great players matters. All of them matter. If scheme didn't matter, we would not have a thing called "Coaches" and not only that, everyone would just run the same offense. If having the "best players or most talent" were to always win and scheme didn't matter, then Booker T Washington and I.C. Norcom and Churchland down on the coast would rarely lose football games.
The team in Region B that develops an offense that regularly goes with 4 wide and actually will throw the ball on first down and put that offense into their little league, Junior High, and JV system and actually perfect it and get it ingrained and has great coaching and technique and playcalling to go with it could dominate that region for many years. That is also where a state title could arise. Whenever Region B wins a state title, it will be a team that offensively looks radically different than what we see now. Again, the offense isn't the direct problem. It's the effect those offenses are having on their Defenses as they play a team from the west that spreads the field and because the offenses in the Valley are so similar, the defenses don't get to prepare much (they do a little bit, but not much) for spread offenses that truly will throw with 4 wide, not simply go 4 wide and run the ball 90 percent of the time out of that formation and call it "spread."
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Graham had more athletes, more physical players and the better scheme. Trying to figure out who is 2nd best is futile. In terms of Physicality, I would say Union was nearly as Physical as Graham. As far as scheme, Glenvar was well coached and has a great scheme and also were a pretty physical team. Strasburg's scheme wasn't going to beat Graham, even if they were as physical as Graham. One thing is clear, Graham was the best 2A team in the state for sure.
There was some debate on the best regions. I would rank them this way (only my opinion)
1. Region D
2. Region C
3. Region B
4. Region A
There was some debate on the best regions. I would rank them this way (only my opinion)
1. Region D
2. Region C
3. Region B
4. Region A
Much respect GHS87. I would go Region B Easily....Easily the best Region when you look at depth of all 8 playoff teams followed by D, then A, and my own Region C as last. So, if I think B was easily the best Region, why did Graham pummel Strasburg? See the multiple posts above on Strasburg and Region B teams season long lack of preparation with spread offenses.
I know some of you guys out there feel like Union would have beat Strasburg. I simply disagree. Strasburg was slightly better than Union on the OL and DL and Strasburg would have beat them. As for Glenvar, same thing as mentioned 1000 times. Spread the field, 4 wide, sometimes empty backfield and it would have been a nightmare for Strasburg trying to stop that pass but again......Strasburg absolutely would move the ball on Glenvar on the ground. I would favor Glenvar by 7.
For what it is worth, Madison has utilized 3-4-5 wideouts for decades. 9 trips to the championship in 30 years were with balanced offensives that would throw in any situation. After Coach Dean retired (300+ wins), MC has gone through 4 coaches. Finally some stability with the current (and former MC player) has returned MC to its roots…getting the playmakers the ball in space. 3-4-5 wideouts is common. But still can run it.
I believe we had about 1700 rushing yards and 1400 passing yards this season.
Gives us a few more years and maybe we will see a matchup of similar offenses👍
I believe we had about 1700 rushing yards and 1400 passing yards this season.
Gives us a few more years and maybe we will see a matchup of similar offenses👍
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